Murder Mystery "The Rimers of Eldritch" Takes Place at MLP

SHREVEPORT, La. — The Marjorie Lyons Playhouse presents a production of Lanford Wilson's 1966 classic, The Rimers of Eldritch Thursday, Nov. 13, at 8 p.m. at the theater located on the Centenary College campus.

Directed by Centenary senior, Nate Wasson, the cast includes: Scott Gibbs, Chelsea David, Rachel Havird, Marissa Brown, Natasha Sebeyran, Lorna Dopson, Emily Mwakitawa, Jerrod Williams, Jacob Bates, Shannon Stoddard, Nicole Popp, Emily Slazer, Destin Bass, David Fitzgibbons, Lauren Morrison, Arron Holman, and Merwin McCrady.

The Rimers of Eldritch

Additional show times are:

Friday, Nov. 14 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 15 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m.

Characterized as a "murder mystery", the story takes place in Eldritch, a nearly abandoned Bible- Belt town which was formerly a center of coal-mining. The remaining residents are hard-pressed to find much to do, other than to gossip about each other and attend church activities run by the hell-fire-and-damnation preacher. Anyone who is different from the norm is ostracized, including a senile old woman, the town derelict living in a shack, and the woman who runs a café and who is apparently having an affair with a much younger man. At the center of the play is the "event" when the town derelict is shot, mistakenly, by a woman who might or might not believe that he's in the act of committing a rape — when, in fact, he's in the act of preventing one. The play itself presents us fragments of conversations before and after this event, including what seems to be a trial.

The mystery is, who murdered him and what were the circumstances? Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford Wilson creates high tension throughout the play, which is a series of scenes—almost choral readings—which move back and forth through time and among the characters.

Cutting from the town gossips to passionate excoriations by the preacher, tender love scenes between two very young teenagers, and the conversations of Cora, the café owner, and the young man she hires to work and to share her bed, the life of the town, or lack of it, is revealed for the viewer. The "trial" following the murder, which is conducted by the preacher, reminds the viewer of the power of one man and the black-and-white values he represents to control and dominate those whose lives hold little hope for the future.

The Marjorie Lyons Playhouse Box office opens November 6th and is open daily from noon until 4 p.m. Ticket prices are $15 for adults; $10 for students, seniors and military; and free for Centenary Students, faculty and staff. For more information, please call 318.869.5242

About Centenary College of Louisiana

Centenary College is a private, four-year arts and sciences college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi River and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Centenary is one of 16 colleges and universities constituting the Associated Colleges of the South and is regularly rated as one of the top colleges in the South. In 2008 Centenary College celebrates 100 years in Shreveport and Bossier City.